C.J. McElroy will sign with the Cardinals

As expected based on his comments since being selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft in June, Clear Creek running back/outfielder C.J. McElroy has decided that he will sign to play professional baseball with the St. Louis Cardinals and pursue baseball full-time, forgoing his football and baseball career with the Houston Cougars, whom he had signed a letter of intent with in February.

McElroy informed UH of his decision this morning and is expected to finalize contract negotiations with the Cardinals soon.

“We have learned from the McElroy family that C.J. will be signing a contract to play professional baseball full time with the St. Louis Cardinals,” UH football coach Kevin Sumlin said in a statement. “He is a very talented young man and we wish him all the best.”

McElroy, who is the son of former major league pitcher Chuck McElroy, was drafted in the third round (109th overall) by the Cardinals last month. He was a dual-sport star at Clear Creek as a running back/receiver in football and an outfielder in baseball.

From the time he was drafted (and even in the days leading up to the draft), McElroy mentioned his love for baseball and his desire to pursue that dream. He told the Chronicle upon being drafted that he was leaning towards signing with the Cardinals.

McElroy’s baseball stock jumped significantly this season with his strong senior year. He hit .488 with five home runs, 20 RBIs, 46 runs scored and 33 stolen bases as a senior.

“C.J. just improved immensely,” Clear Creek baseball coach Jim Mallory said after the draft. “I’ve never seen a kid make the jump like he’s made from one year to the next.”

The loss for the Cougars won’t hurt the football team much in the short term as they have incredible depth at running back with seniors Bryce Beall, Michael Hayes and junior Charles Sims all returning. However, he would have likely had a chance to make an impact as early as his second season. The Cougars do have a running back already committed in the 2012 class, Terrence Taylor from Diboll – a 5-11, 205-pound back with a sub 4.5-second 40-yard dash.

6 Responses

I wish the best for CJ McElroy in his baseball career, although Dave Campbell’s Texas Football Magazine said he was going to be a star at UH. This rb from Diboll and the db/athlete from Dekaney (Irving) are typical superfast smaller school stars that were overlooked by the BCS schools and will become immediate contibutors by their sophomore years. UH needs to copy the TCU model for success by recruiting excellent “athletes” with speed and converting them to play other positions than what maybe they excelled in in highschool. Please get us an update on the recovery of Zeke Riser from his injury and if he is going to return to the starting lineup in the new 3-4 scheme. I see that this kid has bulked up considerably from his freshman reporting weight (230 to 275) and I know he was already a strong kid to begin with and I think he’ll be an ALL CUSA player if he’s back to 100%. Welcome back Sam.